


youre skin and bones + im a nervous wreck

by Sagamohr



Series: i've got a bad feeling about this. [2]
Category: Monster Hunter (Video Games), Monster Hunter: World - Fandom
Genre: Broken Bones, Canon-Typical Violence, Ditzy Handler, Established Relationship, F/M, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:29:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagamohr/pseuds/Sagamohr
Summary: Valentyne has been cleared for active duty, and her first ordered job? Take her cousin and head deep into the northern corner of the Ancient Forest. An Anjanath had decided to make its home there, driving passive herds out. It needs to go, and it needs to gonow.Out of the pan and into the fire.
Relationships: Field Team Leader (Monster Hunter)/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s) & Original Male Character
Series: i've got a bad feeling about this. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600714
Comments: 12
Kudos: 11





	1. i/ii

**Author's Note:**

> I am so excited to write in this universe! I can't wait to continue exploring Astera and all it's goodies. Triggers are explained in the bottom notes to avoid spoilers.
> 
> Thank you, AngelsAvengeMe for Wren... _I'm sorry_.

The sun was beginning to set in Astera.

Up above the settlement, the sky bled red slashed across greying, big fluffy clouds, the sky darkening as the sunset steadily behind the Great Tree. It had been yet another beautiful, cloudless day, and with the setting sun, the New World was inching ever closer into its incoming wet season. Rumbles of a thunderstorm over the sea threatened ever closer, making everyone dig out their long tarps in preparation. Near the mouth of the Tradeyard, where Hunters routinely came and went into the Ancient Forest and beyond, a white-haired Hunter looked inside a massive crate, mumbling to herself. A pale calico styled Palico followed in her long shadow, tail twitching as he too checked bags. 

“Ransom?” Valentyne said, her voice soft. “Can you get Wren for me, please? I don’t see his things here.”

“Mrrow!”

Pulling herself from the gathering of weapons and goodies as her Palico took off running, Valentyne huffed and tugged the strip of leather from her hair, letting it down. She was being obsessive, double-checking everything for what could possibly be the fiftieth time. She was pacing the length of the travel box as the incoming silhouette of her cousin came into sight. Already going against the mental notes in her head, the Hunter tightened the straps on her extra set of bone hatchets, her main weapons back with her kit in her room. Val squinted up at the sky, staring at the way the Great Tree stood powerfully against the backdrop of red and orange and purple. The New World never ceased to amaze her, painting the sky differently each and every night. 

Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that the colour of the darkening was almost an omen, of the quest they were going to take head-on in the morning.

Valentyne firmly didn’t believe in omens.

A couple of minutes passed before Wren caught up with his pacing cousin, his pink hair flopping unceremoniously in his face. The Hunter braced himself against the container, wheezing only slightly. He was in great shape for killing monsters and chasing them down across yards of terrain, but running up and down the stairs? Repeatedly? He wasn’t built for _that_. Once he had caught his breath, Wren looked at his cousin, biting his lip. “What’s the problem?” He asked her, panting as he had run practically the entire length of the base to reach her. When she didn’t answer him right away, he straightened up, exhaling hard. “Val?”

The white-haired hunter didn’t turn to look at him, eyes locked on the mini box that held their food. “Where’re your extra weapons? You didn’t leave them with your kit did you?”

Wren groaned, collapsing dramatically onto the floor. “Val we’ve been _over_ this!” He whined, getting up when his cousin’s Palico ushered him to his feet with a nudge. He had taken the afternoon off from his chores to spend it with the other Hunters at the Canteen. All-day long Valentyne had repeatedly gone over their things, often dragging Wren to double or triple check while she was gone, talking to Luca or the Commander about what was expected of them during this job. 

He understood being nervous, but this was reaching a level of silly he didn’t understand. The Hunter pointed to the box that Val was obsessing over, narrowing his eyes at her slightly. “My things are just fine, they’re _packed_ , we’re leaving _first thing_ in the morning, Luca double-checked my kit too.” He jerked his hand, still pointing up and over their heads, where the Canteen rested. Wren set a weak pout on his face. “Can I go back and have the rest of the night with my friends?”

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose to hide the slight smile that crested. Wren knew his pout got her each and every time, and she knew she was being unfair. “Fine, yes.” Val sighed, dropping her hand to look up at the sky. “I’ll make sure you’re up and ready to go when the sun rises, regardless of how drunk you get tonight.” It was a warning, almost a threat, and Wren grinned at his cousin who looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. 

She waved her hand at him. “Get.” Val dismissed, the warning tone disappearing with a soft smirk of her own. He didn’t need any more encouragement. As Wren scampered away, she looked down at her furry friend, who was busy packing the rest of his things into the trunk too. The Hunter squatted to she would be at eye-level with her hunting buddy, resting her hand on the top of his head, “D’you think we’ll snag it on the first day?” She asked the Palico, referring to the monster she and her cousin were going to slay in the morning.

Ransom shrugged sheepishly, head tilted to the left.

She had honestly expected the shrug, but it still worried her slightly that he didn’t seem fully convinced she should return to active duty.

Valentyne sighed, gave Ransom a hard but loving pat on the head, and stood up. She needed to relax and unwind a little. She had been far too in her own head about all of this, and it wouldn’t kill her if she took a couple of hours to laugh and drink with her friends. She decided she would head back towards the bulk of the Tradeyard, following Ransom who seemed eager to get some dinner. 

She had been off duty for just over three weeks. It had taken her exactly six days to adjust to the new night draught, and it was six days of long, tedious questioning by Luca and the Botanist. She didn’t experience any form of dizziness or grogginess, and she trained - hard - with Luca consistently pushing her past her comfort zone. At the end of the day, after twirling and slamming her hatchets into barrels and straw-stuffed dummies, Val returned to her room more exhausted than she had ever felt before and woke up feeling faintly refreshed without any memories of dreams. 

She scheduled rigorous routine mental and physical exams with the Botanist once every four days, as long as he wasn’t busy. She enjoyed the physical more than the mental exams, but she assumed everyone did. Val put more emphasis and care into her physicals, clearing them easily each time. But they both knew that she would pass them with flying colours. The physical aspect of being a Monster Hunter was never the issue. So, the Botanist put more pressure on her mental exams, and Val didn’t buckle under his thumb. He made sure that she was clearing his standards each and every time, not just meeting them, which often left her returning to her room more drained than she had ever felt before. 

Val had cried when the Botanist had finally agreed to clear her, leaning heavily on Luca.

Speaking of Astera’s Field Leader, he had shown up to each and every exam as he had promised. First, he was merely a second set of eyes at the back of the wall of the half-hut the Botanist worked out of. He didn’t speak unless spoken to, didn’t step in when Val stumbled afterwards, only offering her his arm when they were dismissed. It wasn’t until they started talking about the night draughts and night terrors, that Luca started taking a seat next to Val, his fingers intertwined with hers. He offered her his strength when she didn’t have enough of her own.

But then she was cleared, she was happy, and she was _ready_.

The Commander had pulled her aside a very long three days later and given her the all-clear. ‘Return to active duty immediately,’ he had said. 

Then he told her about the Anjanath wreaking havoc in the Northern corner of the Ancient Forest.

The excitement and thrill of being cleared for active duty were smothered by the itching fear of facing an _Anjanath_.

But, she wasn’t to go alone. Commander had stated, rather firmly. ‘You, Wren and Eden will take on the Anjanath together.’ If things were still dicey, he’d assign Luca to your team too, as long as you needed him. He listed off the rules that she had memorized over a year ago: No going off alone, no sneaking away from the group. ‘ _All for one or none for all, this was by far not a monster you could take on your own_.’ The Commander had declared. Dutifully Valentyne had nodded, agreeing, but the idea of having Luca at her back, by her side, between her (and Wren) and the Anjanath? It nearly crippled her.

So, with one final parting look to the collective tangle of equipment and rations and general hunt things, Val followed her Palico back up into the lively part of Astera, joining her cousin and boyfriend in the Canteen.  


* * *

Valentyne was fully kitted out when she woke Wren up the next morning.

“Good morning,” she said brightly, tugging the blanket off of her cousin. She was pleasantly surprised to see he was still in the clothes he had on the night before, at the Canteen. “Time to get up and smother than Anjanath!”

“Noo,” Whined Wren, trying to wrench the blanket over his head. “Val, it’s _too early_ …”

“I told you last night not to drink a lot,” Val continued, yanked the blanket off of Wren and onto the floor. “But you said you had it under control, and I’m not your mother.” She paused, kicking the blanket behind her, further out of Wren’s trailing reach. “But I _am_ your partner for this job, and I need you up, washed and ready in twenty minutes, or else I’ll throw you into the river myself.” She stepped in front of Wren’s searching hand, smacking his wrist down as he grumbled and sat up.

Squinting up at his white-haired cousin, Wren huffed once again. “Fine.”

“Perfect! See you in twenty, _kasagi!_ ” Val left his room, narrowly missing a pillow to the back of her head, laughing as she jogged back to her own room.

“I’m disowning you!”

When Wren was finally ready, he found the Commander was standing with his big, leathery hands on his hips, speaking to Valentyne. Luca stood next to Val, one hand up between her shoulder blades, the other on the handle of his Great Sword. Eden stood a handful of feet away, under the gaping mouth of Astera, bouncing on the heels of her feet as Ransom dutifully yanked his Jagras scalped helmet over his head. Approaching the speaking trio, Valentyne caught the movement from the corner of her eyes and broke her gaze with the Commander and cast it towards Wren, who smiled ruefully at her. “Ah, he rises.” Val drawled, and the Commander turned to set his firm, line-set scowl at the pink-haired Hunter. Wren knew enough to duck his head. 

“Ready to go?” Asked Val, who stepped away from the touch of her boyfriend to stand in front of her cousin. Wren nodded, adjusting his spare set of hatchets on his back. 

“Ready.”

The Commander cleared his throat. “I trust that you two will be able to bring the monster down without help.” Wren nodded, setting his jaw. “Send the Scoutflies if you’re in any trouble, any trouble at all, understood?” Commander looked directly at Valentyne, who nodded. 

“I understand.”

“Good,” said the Commander gruffly. Luca walked to his grandfather’s side, and the two Hunters knew they were good to go. Val exhaled, turned on her heel and walked towards her Handler and Ransom, with Wren following at her heels. “May the Sapphire Star watch over you!” He called after them, waving to the lifted hand of Eden. Once they were clear of the gates, he whistled to the sentries and had them closed. 

It was clear he didn’t expect them home for a while.

Out of the protective line of sight of Astera’s gifted sentries, Valentyne’s Hander let out a whoop, grinning happily from ear to ear. Her field knife clattered against her thigh, her bag jingling with health potions and small vials for energy boosts. “Are we ready to take down a _freaking_ Anjanath?!” She shouted, startling a trio of Aptonoth, who huffed and stamped their feet as the Hunters passed. Wren shook his head, smirking as he carried his Glaive, lightly waving it as he walked. “I didn’t think we’d get the chance to bring another one down, so soon after the last one!” Eden faulted, half-stumbling over an exposed tree root. “Wait, does anyone else think this is a little… I don’t know, fishy?” She narrowed her eyes slightly, lifting a hand to slap the flank of a grazing Aptonoth.

Valentyne, who spun her dual hatchets as she walked, shrugged. “No. Anjanath are lured into the Ancient Forest because they’re apex predators.” She looked down at her shining hatchets, cleaned twice in the 48 hours she had to prepare for this mission. “There’s plentiful food here, and unless we get cornered by a Rathalos.” They crossed the river noisily, splashing roughly through the slow travelling water. Ransom hopped across half-submerged rocks, preferring not to get his fur wet whenever possible. “Why wouldn’t they come back?” Val asked plainly. 

“There’s more than enough space and food here for them here until they somehow piss off a pack of Jagras.” Chimed Wren, climbing the bank to the other side. They had crossed the slow-moving river easily, and now they were officially in the thick of it. As they dried off their boots and pants, Val stood with her eyes locked on the yawning mouth of the Ancient Forest. She eyed the entrance into the deep forest, exhaling gently. Jagras - and a Great Jagras - lurked and lived there, and it might have been months since her last night terror, but Jagras were nothing to shake a finger at. 

Wren, noticing that his cousin hadn’t moved, turned to look at her as Eden continued on, blissfully unaware. “Val? You alright?” He stepped in towards her,

The white-haired hunter nodded, but her cousin noticed the embarrassed blush that stained her face. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“We can stop if-”

“Wren, I said I’m _fine_.” Val shouldered past Wren, half-rolling her eyes.

Wren followed wordlessly, shouldering his weapon as they approached the heavy, blocky vined covered entrance into the body of the Ancient Forest.


	2. ii/ii

“Left, two o’clock!” Shouted Wren, wiping his bloody nose on his glove. He pointedly ignored the sharp pain that laced across his left side when he moved to squat a little better. Valentyne turned, face paling as the incoming swarm of Jagras locked onto their position. Eden and the Palico were tucked carefully up in a tree, as the Handler had lost her only set of weapons, and Ransom was nursing a broken tail. ‘ _He just needs six minutes to wrap it_!’ Eden had yelled down from the safe confines of the tall tree branches, bracing incase the Anjanath heard her.

Val was worried that the six minutes they needed would only be able six _seconds_ , especially now with the new pack of Jagras locked onto them.

The Anjanath had been sleeping when they found it a few hours ago.

Wren had shot it in the back leg with a pheromone bullet twice before the beast began to stir, annoyed with the pricking of his weapon.

Val, equipped with nothing more than stubborn determination and leathally sharp hatchets, climbed up a tall ledge and launched herself onto it’s back, stabbing it between vertebrae as it roared to life. Wren watched, situated in a place where he could interfere the second things started going south. She clung on for dear life as it lumbered to its long, strong legs and watched as Wren’s soft pink Kinscent exploded out of his Glaive to assist her. She could barely think of anything past: ‘I’m so grateful I’m not alone’. The rosey-pink Kinscet narrowed in on the monster’s hind legs, a barrage of stinging, blunt force attacks as Val started to use her hatchets to ‘climb’ up the Anjanth’s back, yanking one out to stab into it again, higher up to get closer to its neck.

The faster that she could immobilize it, the better. All she had to do was get to the base of it’s thickly furred neck.

But it started going to shit the minute it had flared it’s fins.

Val was thrown off, landing in a crumpled heap near the end of its tail, winded but thankfully not hurt. Wren, already on the attack, was dishing blow after blow with the deadly sharp blade of his Glaive to one of the toes of the Anjanth, knowing to cripple it at its weak point early. If it couldn’t walk they wouldn’t lose it too quickly, and it was a hell of a lot easier to track a limping, bleeding Anjanath than a relatively healthy one. Valentyne, half stunned from the fall, rose unsteadily to her feet, with Ransom yowling a warning only a second too late as the Anjanath’s tail came swishing in, knocking her back again, a few feet. 

She didn’t see it’s tail whip, then crash heavily on top of Wren.

When she was able to get back to her feet, still faintly disoriented, Wren was in a heap. Ransom had gone to his side, meowing frightfully, a large Vigorwasp dropping a massive, wet orb of green onto the fallen Hunter. “Wren!” Valentine choked out, running to her cousin’s side while the monster continued to roar and stomp its large feet. It’s smallest toe was dangling by tendons; Wren was one step closer to properly crippling it. “Wren, it’s time to get up, we gotta get this thing, now!” Val shouted, dragging Wren by the collar of his armor. She took shelter in a discarded tree trunk, hollowed out by… well, anything at this point. They were deep in the forest so who really knew what had tried to make a home here.

“Wren, _get up_!”

“M’fine,” Wren rasped, the color returning to his face from the stuff the Vigorwasp had dropped earlier. He shoved Valentyne away, rose to his feet, and patted his sides and thighs for any more weapons. He moved more fluidly, nearly completely back to normal. Ransom dragged his Glaive over, and the pink haired Hunter grinned down at the Palico. “Thanks, pal.” He said, grabbing the weapon.

“C’mon it’s going to head out in just a few minutes, we can’t let it feed.” Val told Wren, who nodded and followed his cousin out of the trunk and into the fray once more.

Ransom ran ahead of them and got in front of the angry Anjanath, who turned and tried to swipe at the Palico in its way. “Meow-ster, it’s coming back to you!” Ransom yowled.

“Got it!” Val shouted, and she unleashed the hatchets from her back. Wren, feeling much better than he had only thirty seconds ago, followed, gripping his glowing Glaive tightly. With a powerful thrust, Valentyne once again found herself riding the tail of the Anjanath, stabbing into it over and over again as she climbed up its tail. Wren returned to its feet, skillfully dodging its stomps. “Ransom!” Valentyne screamed, her Palico masterfully weaving between the mad feet of the Anjanath. “Tail! Get it’s tail.” Whether he had heard her or not, Ransom let out a noise the Hunter couldn’t place - not one of pain, thank the Sapphire Star - and she returned her attention to the near bucking monster beneath her.

At some point in the fight, the Anjanath gained the upper hand. It flung its fans out, it’s nasal crest flaring, a light burning dangerously in it’s heat sac near the base of it’s throat. With a jet of fire, it began forcing Wren and Val into the protective huddle of a recently fallen tree. Amidst the chaos, Ransom quickly herded Eden up a tree, and now they were waiting for the Anjanath to settle enough so they could take it on again.

That was just before the Jagras entered the fray.

“Can we take them?” Wren asked, ducking down into a large fern bush with Val. They were both bruised and bloody, Wren more so than Val because he had gone right after the lumbering killing machine. The white haired Hunter swallowed, eyes locked on the set of five Jagras fighting over the foot long tip of the Anjanath’s tail. Wren wiped his nose again, hissing as it shot pain up behind his eye. His nose was definitely broken. “Val? We can take them, right?”

She looked at him, her face still pale. “Yeah.” The answer came out choked. The blinding thought of ‘We should send for Luca’ crossed the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it down. She wanted to show the Commander that she was going to remain clear for duty, and this was the _only way_ she could do that.

“C’mon, the sooner we can kill these _faʻailoga_ , the quicker.” Wren said quietly, sending out a droopy, heavy purple looking Kinsect. It flew languidly, wings beating the air softly. Val shook her head, fishing her whetstone from her pack to hastily sharpen her hatchet. She forced herself to think of the upgrades she could make to them instead of thinking of the various ways the Jagras could rip her apart. “Wait until they’re doused, and the Kinsect’s white again. Then we’ll kill them.”

It didn’t take long for one of the dumber Jagras to notice the flying purple mass. It reared up onto thin legs, steadied by its long whip-like tail. Carefully, it plucked at the Kinsect’s hanging sac. It exploded all over the pack of five, the sour stench of Pukei-Pukei’s poison filling their little alcove. Valentyne’s stomach clenched, the last time she had faced a Pukei-Pukei she had returned to camp half-dead. She lurched from the bushes seeking fresh air, the sour scent too much for her in such a small space. Wren made a garbled sound in the back of his throat, reaching to grab at her belt. “Val, no!”

Jagras whipped their head at the incoming Hunter, hissing, puffing their scrawny chests out.

Oh, shit.

Unclasping her hatchets, Val shook the fog encroaching around the corners of her brain, her vision slightly dizzy. Shit, the Kinsect was still pink, it hadn’t finished releasing the toxins. Panic bloomed across Val’s chest. She was directly in the line of the poisoning, and she was too slow to avoid it. “Valentyne!” Eden screamed, and Val could hear Ransom scrambling down the trunk of the tree. Val was sure her Handler had packed antidotes, knowing her cousin likes to work with poison and the like. She had a small vial of it too, didn’t she? Where was her kit? 

The first of the five Jagras lunged at her, and Valentyne stabbed into its chest, grunting when it screamed, flailing in pain. Blood splattered up her arm, her second weapon coming up to slice down the monster’s side, splitting scales and muscles and tendons.

She _hated_ Jagras.

She assumed the Kinsect had returned to Wren, because the others started attacking someone to her left. Her vision was growing blurry, but Val grit her teeth, and tossed the still twitching, bloody yellow-green body of the lizard to the ground, turning to throw herself into the fray of the other four. She dragged her hatchet down the spine of one, throwing the other one with a strong thrust into its skull. One died instantaneously, the other struggled, simply paralyzed, flopping on the ground making wet hissing sounds. 

Val noticed with growing panic that her sight continued to swim, her legs grew heavy.

“Where’s Eden?” Val shouted over the hissing, growling, screaming sounds of the dying Jagras, using both her hatchets now to cleave the head of one off. There were two left, but they scattered, running with twisted feet over one another.

Wren, who had missed the poison, was clear-sighted and strong, even with a broken nose. “She’s coming down the tree, Val you need to get to her!” He stabbed into the chest of a dead Jagras, beginning to messily skin it.

“M’fine,” slurred the white-haired hunter. The ground shook beneath her feet, and she sent a terrified look at her cousin, who quickly abandoned the carcass. “Anjanath.”

A warm hand circled her upper arm and yanked her out of the way, and Val followed, stumbling as her Handler hustled her back into a protective, carved out cave a few feet deep. It was just big enough for Eden and Val, while Wren and Ransom had to fend for themselves. Even in the darkness of this pocket of a cave, Eden could seen the sheen of sweat along her Hunter’s face. “Yikes, Val…” Eden murmured, noticing with growing concern that she wasn’t cooling under the shade. 

It was hot, especially with the wet season starting soon, but the cool comfortable shadows of the Ancient Forest halted a lot of the heat from coming through, and this little compact half of a cave was definitely a heat sink. The poison was fast working, engineered to cripple and weak a creature four times Valentyne’s lithe size in minutes.

Eden realized a half second too late that Val was _dying_.

Digging through her bag in a frenzy, Eden winced as Ransom yowled outside of the tiny cave, followed by a pained shout from Wren. Val struggled to prop herself up on her elbows, spurred on by the sound of her bonded Palico friend and cousin. “R...Ransom…”

“No, no. You lie down while I find the antidote.” Eden said firmly, pushing the Hunter’s shoulders down, pushing past the choking fear of losing her Hunter to a novice mistake of simply _not being there_.

A burst of bright orange Scoutflies expelled from Val’s hip carrying container, shooting out of the cave and into the sky. A small Vigorwasp whizzed slowly around her head, and Eden pierced it’s sac, letting the fluorescent liquid fall over the dying Hunter. Dimly, Val closed her eyes against the brightness of the Vigorwasp’s bright liquid, helpless as the fever of the poison settled heavily in her head, her muscles going lax. She could hear glass faintly tinkling on the ground of the cave, the sounds of a roar, the thundering of a shuffling, approaching Anjanath. 

“Luca…”

* * *

Valentyne woke up.

The sunlight was blinding, and she coughed, her dry throat pinching in pain. 

“Hold on, hold on,” Came a familiar voice, and Val squeezed her eyes closed as the right side of her bed lifted. The weight returned, and a warm hand cupped the side of her face. “Valentyne, open your eyes.”

“W-wren,” She coughed, blinking her eyes open. A shadow fell over her face and the blinding sunlight not so harsh against her closed eyelids anymore. A rounded edge found her mouth and she tilted her chin up to drink. Ice cold refreshing water filled her mouth and Val drank it greedily.

Luca stroked her sweat-drenched hair back. “He’s fine, he’s asleep.” He lowered the bowl of water down, and Val leaned back against her pillow. 

The Hunter took a quick mental inventory, closing her eyes to focus. “The Anjanath…”

“Killed,” Answered the Field Leader, smiling tenderly down at her. “Wren delivered the killing blow while we worked to get you back here.”

Back here?

“I…” Valentyne started, eyebrows furrowing. “What happened?”

“You walked into Pukei-Pukei poison.” He told her, reaching for her bowl of water. “Eden kept you alive while Wren dealt with the Anjanath.” He moved, propping Val up a little higher to help her drink some more. “When we got there, the Anjanath was dead and you were barely breathing. The Botanist managed to draw most of the poison out of you on the way back to Astera.” Luca set the bowl down again, watching as his girlfriend took in the information. “Wren’s got three broken ribs and a broken wrist, but beyond that he’s okay.”

“He’s hurt because of me,” Val whispered hoarsely. 

Luca moved to sit closer to her, gently placing both his hands on her shoulders. “ _Manamea_ , you didn’t cause his injuries. All Hunters risk getting hurt on the job, you know this.”

“I should have paid attention, he explained to me not to go out, and I did because I _needed_ to kill those Jagras-” Valentyne knew she was rambling, knew she was working herself up into an emotional frenzy. Wren was all the family she had left, and now he was hurt because she had acted on pride and reaction instead of thinking it through and now he's _hurt_ -

Luca leaned in, kissing her firmly, drawing her out of the spiral she sent herself into. Val gripped his shirt, pulling back only slightly to breathe, her lungs tight in her chest. “Luca-”

“Wren’s an experienced Hunter, as are you.” He told her, mouth set in a line. “Don’t go blaming yourself for something you can’t change.”

Valentyne knew better than to argue with him. He was right, he was nearly always right. So she leaned back against her pillows, licking over her dry lips, not meeting his gaze. Luca ran a hand over his hair. “I’m sorry.” He told her, taking her hand to kiss her knuckles. “I know how much you care for him, I shouldn’t have snapped at you like this.”

“He’s going to be okay, right?”

“Of course he is.” 

She smiled, sighing as she relaxed more against the pillow. “Will you lay with me? Please?”

Luca laughed softly, shaking his head. “Not until I can take you back to my room.”

“Then stay with me, Luca, please?”

It was all Luca could do not to kiss her breathless once again. “I’ll stay right by your side, Valentyne. Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * _PTSD:_ : Valentyne had some bad hunts in the beginning of her career as a Hunter, and thus she still suffers with PTSD from it.  
> * _Near Death Experience(s):_ Both Val and Wren experience near fatal injuries in the hunt, almost ending their lives.
> 
> Translations:  
>  **Kasagi** = Cousin  
>  **Faʻailoga** = Idiots  
>  **Manamea** = Sweetheart


End file.
